Nationalism Course Podcast

Dr Paul Morland (Birkbeck) Demographic Engineering: Population Strategies in Ethnic Conflict with a response from Dean Godson (Director, Policy Exchange) Morland“All history is the history of ethnic conflict and in ethnic conflict numbers count.” With this bold statement, Paul Morland opens his new book which argues that ethnic conflict is pervasive across time and space and those with the weight of numbers on their side, either of soldiers or voters, have at the very least an important advantage and often a decisive one. It is therefore surprising that little thought has been given to demography in the context of ethnic conflict. Whilst some consideration has been paid to whether demography causes conflict – when and how particular demographic circumstances may trigger and shape wars and strife – little thinking has been given to how, once conflicts get going, groups use demography as part of their strategy or indeed pursue demography as a strategic goal. Morland offers a framework for thinking about po

‘Changes Alarm, Time Disarms: Ethnic Context and the Political Demography of Anti-Immigration,’ part of panel at ‘Europe’s migration crisis and the Populist Response’ event, 23 November, Wolfson Suite, London, University of London Slides: http://www.sneps.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/EK-1.pptx

British Government @ LSE public discussion Date: Thursday 5 November 2015 Time: 6.30-8pm Venue: Wolfson Theatre, New Academic Building Speakers: Professor Eric Kaufman, Professor Alan Manning, Polly Toynbee, Professor Christine Whitehead Chair: Professor Tony Travers This event will discuss immigration and asylum policies in Britain. The event will specifically discuss economics, public opinion, communities and poverty. Eric Kaufmann is Professor of Politics at Birkbeck College, University of London. Alan Manning is Professor of Labour Economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Polly Toynbee is a Columnist for the Guardian. Christine Whitehead is Professor of Housing Economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Tony Travers is Director of LSE London, a research centre at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is also a Visiting Professor in the LSE’s Government Department and Director of British Government @ LSE. British Government@LSE (@

Professor Eric Kaufman from Birkbeck College, University of London, discusses his research making use of the BHPS and Understanding Society to look at White Flight and discusses what his findings tell us about the apparent rise of UKIP.

Talk at University of Oxford, Department of Sociology, April 22, 2013 Asks why white British people in more diverse wards in England are somewhat less opposed to immigration than those in more homogeneous wards.

Much of the course has focused on separatist or diaspora minorities, or on the states in which they reside. This lecture considers ethnic majorities within states, such as the ethnic white British majority of Britain or whites in the United States. The nationalism of the state differs from that of the ethnic majority. Ethnic majority nationalism is more exclusive of ethnic minorities and the rise of large-scale non-European migration to Europe since the 1950s is a major factor in the rise of far right parties in Western Europe. These have gone from strength to strength since the late 1980s.

This lecture asks whether nationalism and European integration are on a collision course. It covers the origin and design of the main institutions of the European Union. Next, I consider the rising opposition to European integration since the early 1990s, evident in survey data and popular votes on new Treaties, up to the British 'in/out' referendum, scheduled for 2016-17. What explains Euroskepticism, and what is the future of the European unification project?

In diverse societies such as Britain, should the state grant rights to groups, or only to individuals? Should loyalty to the nation trump those of ethnicity or religion? Using the British case, this lecture asks whether there has been a shift from multiculturalism to British civic nationalism; from celebrating difference to emphasizing what Britons have in common.

Is nationalism a secular religion, a replacement for nationalism, as Durkheim surmised? Or is it a meaning system that draws on religious resources for power? Do religious officials endorse or oppose nationalism and ethnicity? This lecture examines this question, probing the links between religion and nationalism, from ancient Israel to modern Islamism.

Is religion in decline? What is its relationship to secularization? One argument is that modernisation differentiates society, leading to the shrinking and relativization of religion. Another view is that a diversity of religious worldviews strengthens religion: religion only declines when suppliers become complacent and monopolistic. Finally, others draw attention to the importance of demography and nationalism in spurring religious revival. I also consider how modernity may be boosting fundamentalist variants of religion.

What is the relationship between local-level conflicts based around local rivalries such as family or warlord, and wider ethnic conflicts? Are ethnic affiliations really just convenient labels for local protagonists to cling to - when their actual agenda has nothing to do with ethnic sentiment? I explore this 'microfoundations' argument for civil war in this lecture.

When do secessionists use violence and when not? How does secessionist violence differ from state-directed genocide? Here we ask under what conditions nationalism turns violent.

This lecture asks why some nations seek to break away from their parent states while others are content with autonomy or even the status quo. What factors best explain secession? We also examine irredentism, where secessionists seek to join another state.

This lecture asks whether some nations are based on exclusive, 'ethnic' membership criteria while others are more 'civic' and inclusive. Is the 'ethnic-civic' schema, which goes back to the early 20th century, a useful typology - or is it too simplistic?

This lecture looks at nations which define themselves on the basis of cultural characteristics. These typically emerged in places where the 'people' did not have their own state institutions and thus had to assemble their nations using cultural materials.

Why are some nations more ethnically diverse than others? How are multi-ethnic nations possible? What is a multi-national state? This lecture focuses on how ethnic groups, nations and states interact to produce multi-ethnic states.

This lecture looks at how states construct nations from the 'top down' through mass ceremony, education, bureaucratization and militarization, with France as the model. We also ask why some nation-building projects fail, and how this informs theories of nationalism.

This lecture explores competing explanations for the emergence and persistence of nations. How do various theories explain the motivations of nationalists?

When, how and why did ethnic groups originate? What is their relationship to nations and states?